The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Loading ...

Loading ...

This story appears in the {{article.article.magazine.pretty_date}} issue of {{article.article.magazine.pubName}}. Subscribe

For years it's been relatively easy to ignite medical controversy with emotional (but often anecdotal) evidence. TV is a popular format for doing just that. It's quick, colorful and dramatic (and increasingly in high-def and big-screen). Add a well known celebrity (or two) and the effects can be powerful, long term and hard to refute.

Much of that power, however, is changing and will continue to change with large datasets that are freely available online – or soon will be. When we talk about the science of "Big Data" as a new discipline, it's often the datasets that we're referencing – and the visualization of those datasets can be equally powerful and dramatic. As a single example, I wrote about the release of one such dataset on hospital pricing released last year by the Government (here).

On Monday, Aaron Carroll (over at the Incidental Economist here) highlighted another chart that was based on a dataset recently published by the Council On Foreign Relations. The chart shows "vaccine preventable outbreaks" around the world from 2006 to present day.

The original chart is online here and is interactive by year, outbreak type, location and number of people. The data covers outbreaks for Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Polio, "other" – and is also available as a downloadable CSV file (for use with most spreadsheet applications – here). The CSV data also includes source citation, country, longitude/latitude, number of cases and fatalities by outbreak type.

The graphic and the data it represents is a compelling argument against those who think that the vaccinations themselves are dangerous and should be avoided. The has a great Q&A section which flatly states:

"Vaccines do not cause autism. Despite much controversy on the topic, researchers haven't found a connection between autism and childhood vaccines. In fact, the original study that ignited the debate years ago has been retracted."Mayo Clinic – Childhood Vaccines: Tough questions, straight answers (here)

Of course this isn't the best example of the power of "big data," but it's a good one for a debate that continues to cycle and gain new followers. Sadly, we don't often see the full effect until a new generation of kids show up at schools across the country without their vaccinations. Last summer the L.A. Times reported this finding:

Although some 90% of the state's kindergartners are up to date on their immunizations, it is not uncommon for individual public elementary schools to report that more than one-third of their kindergartners are not. And if you're thinking this must be a problem unique to schools in low-income neighborhoods, think again. One of Malibu's three elementary schools reported that just 58% of its kindergartners were up to date on their vaccinations, and some other affluent areas throughout the state have schools with similar compliance rates. Alexandra Le Tellier – Vaccine Debate: The Conspiracy Theorists vs. Reality – L.A. Times, August 2013 (here)

The chart that Aaron referenced on Monday was actually a follow up to a piece he did on Sunday that showcased some of the history to the debate. Sunday's piece – Healthcare Triage: Vaccines and Autism (here) provided this great video history (and links to supporting documents).

Aaron's final suggestion on Monday was clearly aimed at the real source of the debate – all of us as parents.